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Understanding the Importance of an Ohio Social Model Detox in Addiction Recovery

Elite Rehab Placement is a no-cost, full service, drug and alcohol rehab assistance provider. Our mission is to help you, or a loved one, to find the right addiction treatment center for your specific needs. We work with several of the top rehab centers in the country and are able to deal with both them, and your insurance provider, on your behalf, to make sure that you’re placed in the best facility for your specific situation.

There are individuals who are confused as to what differentiates medical detox from social detox.

While everyone knows that detoxification is a necessary step in drug or alcohol addiction recovery, some may be a bit perplexed as to what an Ohio social model detox is all about.

Detoxification requires not only the removal of the offending substance from the body; it also requires supporting the individual throughout the whole process of detoxification. And this is where the main difference between medical detox and social model detox lies.

For the most part, a medical detox uses certain medications to help the individual get through the different withdrawal symptoms that he experiences during detoxification. Depending on the nature and type of the substance addiction, the withdrawal symptoms can be rather benign such as nausea and vomiting, headaches, restlessness, and even gastric upset. There can also be instances of insomnia, anxiety, depression, and agitation. These do not necessarily require medication; although some individuals would want to take medications so that they will not be nauseous or they will not feel the pain or they will be able to sleep a lot better at night.

There are also withdrawal symptoms that are considered serious and sometimes even life threatening. These can include cardiac arrhythmias, seizures or convulsions, abnormally high body temperatures, severely elevated blood pressure, breathing difficulties, and even coma. These symptoms require certain medications and other treatments so that the individual’s status will be stabilized.

Social model detox is detoxification without using medications to help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. This is often indicated in benign cases of substance addiction where the individual may not necessarily display severe or even life threatening withdrawal symptoms. The social model utilizes support groups to provide motivation and encouragement to the individual undergoing the detoxification. With the support of everyone around him, the individual musters enough strength to get through the different phases of the detox treatment process without ever having to resort to medications aimed at addressing the symptoms.

Additionally, the individual is taught some relaxation and stress management techniques and other non-pharmacologic methods of addressing his symptoms. He uses these techniques and strategies in mitigating the various physiologic and psychological complaints that he may be experiencing while undergoing detox treatment.

The reason for the exclusion of medications from the detox treatment program is anchored on the belief that these medications have an additive effect on the substances being removed from the body. This can translate to significantly longer period of time of detoxification. A more simplistic explanation can be found in the essence of detoxification. Since detox is the removal of harmful substances from the body, it does make perfect sense not to add other chemicals which can add burden to the liver trying to get rid of the toxins and harmful chemicals.

To sum it up, social model detox does not require medications to manage the symptoms presented during detoxification. As such, it should only be used in mild to moderate substance addictions where the risk of serious physiologic consequences is low.